It's Never Really Over
by chasingxxstarlight
Summary: Nate and Jenny fell apart at the Snowflake Ball, but is it ever really over when you think it is? Will Nate ever realize the mistake he made that night, and will Jenny ever forgive him? Follows season 2 slightly until the senior play, then goes AU.
1. Chapter 1

_I don't know_

_This could break my heart_

_Or save me._

Sober – Kelly Clarkson

"You're not who I thought you were."

The words kept racing around her brain, again and again. Jenny Humphrey watched as Nate Archibald gave her his best I-expected-better-of-you look, and then turned to watch him as he stalked away from her. She couldn't move, she couldn't breathe; she couldn't feel _anything_. All around her, people were dancing and laughing, and yet it all seemed to be in slow motion. Her cheeks stung, as if she had been slapped. She lifted her hands to her mouth, trying to cover the sob that was desperately trying to escape from her lips.

She had heard that having your heart broken hurt, but she never expected that it would hurt this much. A deep emptiness inside had started in the pit of her stomach and was now spreading throughout her body. Her chest hurt, and she pressed her hands into it, willing her heart to stop falling to pieces. Tears were pooling in her eyes, and she knew that in a second they would be falling swiftly down her cheeks, and then everyone would know that she had just been dumped by Nate Archibald. Could it really be called being dumped, though, if they were never really together? No matter what it's called, it hurt, and she couldn't bear to let anyone see how broken she was feeling.

He had written her a letter. She still couldn't believe that. He had actually taken the time to sit down and put his feelings about her into words. And the envelope was thick; it must have been more than a page. He had written more than one page about how he felt about her. It still didn't seem real to her as she repeated those words to herself.

But as soon as the pain had hit her from Nate's words, the anger came just as fast from his actions. She had never gotten the chance to read the letter because Vanessa had stolen it. _That bitch_. And to think just yesterday she had gone off at Jenny for kissing Nate behind her back, when she had done much, _much _worse. Vanessa's true colors were starting to show now, and it was obvious she would do anything she could to make sure she didn't lose Nate; even if that meant sabotaging things between Nate and Jenny. She didn't feel nearly as bad about the see-through dress incident now. Vanessa deserved everything she got.

And Nate; how _dare_ he throw the letter in her face, taunt her with it, and then leave her hanging like that? He hadn't even given her a chance to explain, to tell him what she really felt. He had just run away, like the spineless coward he was. She deserved to read that letter, to see what he couldn't say to her face. It was her letter, it was her right. And she was going to read that letter, one way or another, she would.

And with her anger at Nate, at Vanessa, and at herself, pounding in her veins, she stomped towards the door where Nate had disappeared. She was going to find him and tell him exactly where he could go and where he could shove his condescending tone.

She burst through the doors into the chilly, crisp December night. Taking deep gulps of air, her heartbeat slowed down. Her head was clearing from the emotional mess it was in, and she was grateful for that. She walked down the street, looking for Nate's broad shoulders and light brown mop of hair. And then she saw him; and her heart sank.

There was Nate, talking to Vanessa. Jenny could see that Vanessa had been crying. Nate's hands were gently resting on either side of her arms, and he was staring intently into her eyes. And then he kissed her. And Jenny felt the last tiny piece that was left of her heart shatter into another million pieces.

The anger now replaced once again with paralyzing pain, she stood there frozen, watching as Nate and Vanessa got into a taxi and pulled away into the endless stream of New York traffic. She was left alone standing on the street corner; a single tear spilled over her lashes and ran down her cheek, dropping from her chin and landing on the freshly fallen snow.


	2. Chapter 2

_I could crash and burn_

_But maybe_

_At the end of this road_

_I might catch a glimpse of me_

Sober – Kelly Clarkson

Jenny Humphrey didn't know how long she had been walking, but it didn't matter. She didn't even know where she was going. She just needed to keep moving. That was the only thing telling her that she was still alive, as she couldn't feel anything. She was just numb; and walking. That was what mattered.

"Jenny….Jenny….JENNY!" someone yelled from behind her. Jenny spun around and saw the long, black limo idling by her in the street. Blair Waldorf was staring at her through the open window. She looked annoyed. That wasn't unusual though.

"God Jenny, I've been calling your name for the past block and a half…" Blair trailed off as she looked at Jenny's face. "Are you ok? What's wrong? Is it Bart? I didn't really expect you to be upset about it, considering you hardly knew him and the fact that Bart hated your father and brother and…"

"Blair! What about Bart?" Jenny interrupted her before she got too far down her mindless tangent. Blair had a habit of doing that.

"You mean you haven't heard? Bart was in accident in his limo, he's been rushed to the hospital. I'm on my way there to meet Chuck and Serena and Lily. I think Nate will be there too, I know Chuck called him right after Lily told him…"

At the mention of Nate's name, Jenny went cold all over. The image of Nate thrusting the letter in face, and walking away from her washed over her mind, quickly followed by the image of him kissing Vanessa and jumping into a taxi with her. Over and over the images replayed, she just wanted to reach her hands into her brain and pull them out. She never wanted to relive that humiliation again, yet she couldn't stop the images from flashing through her brain.

"…apparently it was just an awful accident. They're not sure if Bart's going to make it. God, it's just so tragic." Jenny hadn't realized Blair was still talking. Blair glanced over at Jenny as she finished her rambling, "Are you sure you're ok, you look like you've seen a ghost…Do you want a ride? I don't really have time to drive all the way to Brooklyn," she glanced down at her watch, "but I could probably drop you at the subway station." She smiled at Jenny, feeling proud of herself for being nice. It was something Serena had told her to work on.

"Um, yeah, sure. Thanks Blair," Jenny mumbled at she slid into the dark leather interior of the limo.

"So, Little J, tell me, what's really wrong?" Blair asked as soon as the limo had pulled away for the side of the street.

Jenny waved her hand feebly in Blair's direction as she kept her eyes firmly planted on the limo's carpeted floor. "It's nothing really. I'm fine."

"Oh come on now, J, don't give me that. I know you well enough to know when you're upset. What's wrong? Is it your Dad? I thought you had worked everything out with him and Dan over Thanksgiving."

"No, it's not that, they're fine, we're fine. It's just…" Jenny tried to keep her voice from wobbling, "It's just, well, after the Vanessa dress fiasco, Nate came up to me, and yelled at me, and then ran after Vanessa. And I saw them kissing outside the ball, and… never mind. You don't care. Nate's your ex, why would you care? I'm sorry, just let me out here. I can walk the rest of the way."

"Jenny, please, don't," Blair looked at her, her face softer and kinder than Jenny had ever seen it. "Nate is an idiot. He doesn't know what he wants, and it's apparent that he is lacking major taste if he's taken up with Vanessa again," she paused and wrinkled her nose in disgust as she contemplated this new development, "Vanessa is an evil little bitch. She only takes joy in ruining other people's lives. Don't let her ruin yours. You have so much more going for you than you think."

Jenny looked over at her in surprise. She had never expected to have a heart to heart with Blair Waldorf. Maybe the ice queen did have a heart after all.

"Don't give me that look, Jenny," Blair said as she saw the surprise on Jenny's face. "Don't forget I handpicked you last year to be my protégée. Not everyone is as privileged as you are. I saw something in you then, a fire… a passion. I never thought that the Jenny Humphrey I met then would ever sit sniffling over some boy," She raised her hand as Jenny opened her mouth to speak, "No, listen to me. You are better than this. You are better than Vanessa. You are better than Nate Archibald. And he is not worth anything to you until he realizes that fact and dumps the Brooklyn trash. Now, you show him the Jenny Humphrey I know. You show them who you really are. And get out. We're at the subway station." Blair smiled slightly at Jenny as she exited the limo. She drove off as soon as the door was shut, and Jenny was left standing there on the sidewalk, her mouth gaping in shock.

Had Blair Waldorf just said she was better than Nate? Little Jenny Humphrey from Brooklyn was better than Nate? She was stunned. But, she strangely felt better. She wiped the remaining tears from her cheeks, ran her fingers through her hair, and stood up straighter. Taking a deep breath, she turned and walked down the steps to the subway, her head held high all the way down.

**

The next few weeks flew by for Jenny. There was Bart Bass' funeral, which was sad, but as drama filled as any other UES event. Chuck Bass kicked Dan out of the funeral, Jenny wasn't exactly sure why, but he left before it had even started. Jenny sat inside next to Eric, holding his hand. Poor Eric, even though he and Bart had their differences, Bart had been like a father figure to him. The only heart stopping moment of the funeral was when she saw Nate sitting across the aisle from her with Blair and Chuck. But she didn't let it affect her, she was there for Eric, and she wasn't going to let anything interfere with that.

After the funeral Jenny was busy making Eleanor Waldorf's wedding outfit, a small price to pay for redeeming herself in her former mentor's eyes. Eleanor absolutely loved it, and as Jenny stood to the side of the room, watching Eleanor and Cyrus promising to love one another forever, she smiled to herself. That was real love. That was the kind of love she wanted.

And then, Christmas quickly came upon them, and Jenny was thrown into the usual hustle and bustle of a Humphrey holiday. She went up to Hudson to spend the weekend before Christmas with her mom. Jenny relished the time she spent up there, she was out of the city, away from everything that had happened, and she never had to worry about running into Nate or Vanessa.

On Christmas Eve, Jenny walked into the loft's living room and plopped down onto the couch next to Rufus. He was softly strumming out a Christmas Carol on his guitar. She smiled, she always loved watching her dad play, his whole face lit up, and you could just tell how peaceful and happy he was. She wished he always looked like that.

He looked up at her, smiled, and said "You know Santa won't come if you're still awake, Jen."

She rolled her eyes at him and laughed. "Dad, I'm not a kid anymore. Santa's not real."

"Are you sure?" He winked at her, "So what's up, Jen? You've got your serious look on your face. Something you want to talk about?"

She took a deep breath, "Yeah, Dad, do you think you would be able to get me back into Constance?"

He stop strumming his guitar and looked at her intently, "Are you serious? You sure you want to go back? You know if you do, you have to be serious about it. I won't let you leave again."

"I'm sure. I'm ready to go back. I made a mistake, I shouldn't have dropped out in the first place. I just want to be normal old Jenny Humphrey again."

He smiled at her, put his guitar down and said, "I'm glad plain old Jenny is back. I missed her," He leaned in to pull her into a hug. She nestled her head in the hollow between his neck and collarbone.

"I missed her too, Dad. I really did."


	3. Chapter 3

_I will lie awake_

_And lie for fun_

_And fake the way I hold you_

_Let you fall for every empty word I say_

Me vs. Maradona vs. Elvis – Brand New

Nate Archibald lay in his bed staring up at the ceiling. Next to him was the sleeping form of Vanessa Abrams. He turned his head slightly to look at her. She was lying on her side, her face towards him, snoring quietly. She was beautiful, her black ringlets gently framing her face, her small pink lips slightly parted, her long black lashes resting lightly on her cheeks.

But for all her beauty, Nate felt absolutely nothing when he looked at her. She was just a girl. But she wasn't the girl he wanted to be with.

He closed his eyes and focused on a girl with beautiful white blonde hair, with bright blue eyes and a gorgeous light-up-the-room smile. She was tall and slim with legs that went on for days. How he wished that beautiful girl was lying next to him rather than the one there now.

But she never would. He had fucked it up royally. He got scared. He had never had those feelings before, never that strong. So what did he do? He latched on to the next person he saw. Vanessa. After he had run away from Jenny at the Snowflake Ball he had gone outside, and that was when he saw Vanessa about to get into a taxi. She had been crying. He felt bad about that. So he went over to her and told her that what she had said to him earlier mattered. And then he had kissed her. And now here he was trapped in another relationship without knowing how to get out. And there was no one else to blame but himself.

Sighing softly to himself, he rolled over and fell asleep; dreaming of that beautiful girl with the white blonde hair, dreaming of Jenny Humphrey.

**

_You're not who I thought you were…_

Jenny Humphrey awoke with a start, Nate's words still echoing in her head. She sighed and rolled over onto her side and hugged a pillow to her chest. It had been three months since the Snowflake Ball and since her and Nate had last talked, but her dreams were still haunted by his words.

She tried to act like she was ok when she was around other people, especially when she was around Dan. He was much too perceptive for his own good. When she found out that Dan and Serena were together, she genuinely felt happy for them, but she was still reminded of how lonely she was. Of how she almost had that same sublime happiness, but it was all ripped away from her.

She was still trying to keep herself busy. She spent most of her free time with Eric and Jonathan. They both knew what happened at the Snowflake Ball, so they let her tag along with them, but she could tell they were starting to get annoyed with her. She knew that she should give them more space, but she just couldn't be alone. It all came rushing back to her as soon as silence descended on her.

She never got a full night's sleep. She always dreamed of him. Always. Sighing, she reached over to her bedside table and grabbed the latest issue of Vogue that was lying there. She knew she wouldn't get anymore sleep tonight.

**

Jenny was walking out of class the next day and looking down the hallway looking for Penelope and Hazel. Ever since they had realized that Jenny wasn't going to challenge their position in Blair's clique, they mostly left her alone, but on some days when they were feeling particularly bitchy, they would seek her out just for fun. Jenny didn't see either of them, so she turned from the classroom door and started to walk down the hallway, but ran straight into someone instead. Cursing herself for not being more careful, Jenny bent down to pick up her books, and stood up to see the small petite frame and smiling face of Ms. Carr.

"Oh my gosh, Ms. Carr, I'm so sorry. I really should look where I'm going more often, I'm such a klutz. Sorry."

"Oh, don't worry, Jenny, I'm fine. Being a bit clumsy myself, I know how it is." Ms. Carr gave her a small wink. "Actually, this is kind of perfect as I was looking for you. I'd like to ask you a favor. Your brother, Dan, tells me you're quite the talented designer. I was wondering if you would be in charge of the costumes for the senior play. We could really use your talents."

"Oh. Um, wow. That's really nice of you to think about me, but uh, I just don't know if I have the time… I have so much schoolwork to catch up on…" Jenny knew Nate was in the senior play, Dan was telling her about it the other day. She just could not be near him. Not yet.

Ms. Carr frowned slightly, "Oh really? I did hear you dropped out earlier this year, I'm glad to see you did decide to come back. I actually spoke to Ms. Kweller about it, and she has agreed to give you extra credit for helping us out. I know how much you need that; it could really give your grades a boost."

Jenny felt her heart sink a bit. She really could use the extra credit; it would definitely help ease some of the pressure she was feeling lately. But, if she agreed, she would be seeing Nate a lot more. Almost daily, so far she had managed to avoid him at school. Thank goodness Constance and St. Jude's were in separate wings. But, she knew she had no choice now. "Wow. Thank you so much, Ms. Carr. I really appreciate you doing that for me. I guess I can't refuse now, can I?" She smiled weakly at Ms. Carr.

Delighted, Ms. Carr clapped her hands together, "Oh wonderful! I'm so pleased. Between you and me, for all the money that gets poured into this school, you would think they would have a better costume selection. But I'm sure you'll do wonderful things with them. So, we start rehearsals afterschool today, come to the auditorium at 3:00, and I'll show you around backstage and let you get to work. Oh this is just great! Thank you so much!" And with that the teacher was off down the hallway, racing to get to her next class. As Jenny heard the bell ring above her, she too raced off, she hated to be late.

Later that afternoon, Jenny was sitting in the costume closet (which really wasn't a closet as it was bigger than Jenny's room at the loft) and going over the to do list she had written up for the next few weeks. Chewing on her lip, her eyes scanned up and down the list, she couldn't think of anything she had missed, at least not yet. Her eyes landed at first item of the list, measure all cast members. She already knew Dan's measurements, so she could skip him. But everyone else she would have to measure, including Nate.

Taking a deep breath, she walked out of the costume closet and into the wings of the stage where the actors were milling around, waiting for rehearsal to start. Starting with Nelly Yuki, she methodically made her way through everyone, until she had one person left. Nate. And she was nervous to walk up to him. She was nervous to open her mouth and talk to him. She was nervous that she would lose it and just start bawling right there in front of him.

_Pull it together Jenny,_ she said to herself, _he's just a boy. Remember what Blair said to you. He's not worthy of you. You are better than him. _

Throwing her head back, and standing just slightly straighter, she marched over to where Nate was standing, with his back to her. She tapped him on his shoulder, and he turned around. She noticed the surprise in his eyes when he saw who it was.

With her knees slightly shaking she said, "I need to measure you."

"What?"

"For your costumes, I need to measure you for your costumes."

"Oh. Right. Um…right now?"

"It's better that I do it now, then it's done with. If you could just come with me to the costume closet…" she started to walk in that direction, vaguely aware that he was following her. She had done it. She had managed to walk and talk in front of him and not lose it. Now came the harder part.

She had Nate stand in front of her with his arms spread out from his sides. She reached around his chest with her measuring tape, as she did, her arms lightly brushed his sides, and she felt his muscles stiffen. She looked up at his face, his lips were pressed tightly together, and his eyes were staring straight ahead, away from her.

"Are you ok Nate? You look like you're pain or something."

"I'm fine. Can we just get this over with?"

"Sure. Not a problem." She quickly finished his measurements and wrote them down, and after she had dismissed him, he ran out of there as fast as his feet would carry him. Jenny sighed as she sat down in her chair again. It was obvious that Nate hated her just as much as he did back in December. Whatever feelings he may have had last fall were clearly all gone now. And as much as she tried to pretend that it didn't hurt her, it did.

Clearly, it really was over between her and Nate.


	4. Chapter 4

_Because these words were never easier for me to say  
Or her to second guess  
But I guess  
That I can live without you but  
Without you I'll be miserable at best_

Miserable at Best – Mayday Parade

Jenny was late again. It was opening night of the play and she was late. As she ran up the steps of Constance she ran smack into someone coming out of the door. She flew to the side and smacked her head against a stone pillar. And then it all went black…

When she came to a few minutes later, someone's face was hovering over her, and as her vision started to clear, she realized it was Carter Baizen. What the hell was Carter Baizen doing here? She slowly started to sit up, but stopped as soon as the world started spinning around her.

Carter knelt down beside her and supported her back. "Are you alright? That was a pretty hard hit." He looked anxiously at her face, making sure she wasn't going to faint again.

Jenny tried sitting up again, and this time she was successful. She rubbed the back of her head. She could already feel a lump forming. "Yeah, I'm ok. Sorry. I seem to be getting into a habit of running into people lately. Are you ok?"

Carter laughed, "Yeah, I'm fine. I have a bit sturdier build than you, so I was just fine." He winked at her."Do I know you? I feel like we've met before."

Jenny smiled at him, "Yeah. I'm Jenny Humphrey; we met at the Debutante Ball last year. You went with Blair."

"Oh that's right. I remember now. Well, Jenny Humphrey, let me help you up." He grabbed both her hands and slowly pulled her up to her feet. Surprisingly she was ok, her legs just a little wobbly, but the world had stopped spinning, so that was a plus. Carter helped her walk into the school, cracking jokes about playing doctor. Jenny smiled at him and let him take care of her. It was nice to be looked after for once.

**

Nate stood to the side of the school gate and watched as Jenny ran smack into Carter Baizen. He wanted to run right up to her and make sure she was ok, but Carter was there already, and he didn't know how happy Jenny would be to see him. He watched as Carter helped Jenny to her feet, and as he and Jenny started laughing about something. What the hell was so funny, she just fell and cracked her head against a pillar! They shouldn't be laughing! She should be rushed to the hospital! Wait, was Cater _flirting_ with her? That son of a bitch; first Blair, now Jenny.

He slowly walked towards the stairs leading to the front door of the school. He was mad, yes, but he didn't really have a right to be. He let her go. She's not his anymore. She has every right to flirt with boys. But Carter? Of all people, Carter? That bastard only had one thing on his mind when it came to girls, and he didn't even want to think about Carter going there with Jenny. It wouldn't happen. Jenny's much too smart to fall for his charms.

He thought back to a few weeks ago when he last saw her. She had measured him for his costume, she had been so close to him. Her arms had brushed him and his pulse had quickened as soon as she did. He could smell her hair, it smelt like strawberries, just like it had that night on the street when they had their first official kiss. He had wanted to grab her right then and kiss her, but he knew he couldn't; all that was in the past now. He was with Vanessa, and Jenny was moving on, apparently with the help of Carter Baizen. Frowning he walked up the stairs and into the school. Opening night and he was already in a bad mood, and the curtain hadn't even gone up yet.

**

Jenny stood off to the side of the stage holding the ice pack to her head that Carter was nice enough to get for her. He was now sitting in his seat in the auditorium watching the play, which was the reason why he was here tonight. He had told her he had heard about the play and thought he would stop by to have a laugh at Blair, Serena, and Nate. And he was certainly getting his laugh, the play was going awfully. Blair and Serena almost seemed at one another's throats during their scenes, and it seemed like it wasn't just acting. Nate was forgetting his lines left and right, which was strange since he had been perfect with them during the dress rehearsal yesterday. Actually, Jenny remembered, he had come into the dressing room with a cloud hanging over him earlier. Jenny had watched as Vanessa had run up to him and threw her arms around his neck and went in for a kiss. He had quickly pecked her lips and then shrugged her off and walked into the boys' dressing room, leaving Vanessa looking confused and slightly hurt in the hallway.

Jenny wondered what was going on with him. This wasn't like Nate at all. She hoped that something hadn't happened with his dad again, he'd already been through enough trouble. He surely didn't need any more. Nate was about to go onto stage for his next scene, and Jenny noticed he had forgotten his scarf. She grabbed it and ran up to him.

"Hey," she said and he turned around to look at her, "here." And she gave him his scarf. He just looked at her. She was taken aback by the anger that was in his face. Hoping to make him a little cheerier, she said, "It was really amazing of Julian to let Vanessa film it. I know she says he's an amazing director." She smiled at him.

"Is that right?" Nate barely looked at her as he was rushed off to make his cue into the scene. Jenny walked up to the wings of the stage to watch the rest of the scene, and was horrified when she saw the meltdown on the stage. Nate was yelling into the audience something about someone being a girlfriend stealer, and he stormed off the stage, then Blair and Serena started going at it, and then Nate came back onto the stage and yelled some more. Jenny looked behind her and saw the ropes for the curtain and quickly ran to them and pulled down the curtain.

**

Nate walked onto the stage and immediately blanked on what his next line was. This was probably the hundredth time it happened. He just could not focus on this stupid play. All he could see in his head was Carter and Jenny laughing as they walked into the school. And then he saw Carter, the smug bastard, sitting in the audience smirking at him, laughing at him. And Nate lost it.

He walked up to center stage and just started ranting, "I hate these clothes, I hate this play, I hate pretentious asshats who try to steal other people's girlfriends. In fact I might just spontaneously punch one the next time you get in my face." And with one last look at Carter's smirking face, he stormed off the stage. Nate resisted the urge to punch the wall as he paced back in forth in the wings. He was seething mad. And yet the image of Jenny and Carter outside the school was still playing over and over in his head.

Later that night, after the play had ended up abruptly, and after he had fought with Vanessa again, he walked outside the school and leaned against the wall. He sighed and looked out towards the street just in time to see Carter help Jenny into his limo. Nate ground his teeth and turned and punched the wall. It hurt, but not as much as it hurt to see Jenny and Carter driving off into the night together.


	5. Chapter 5

_All this time spent in vain  
Wasted years, wasted gain  
All is lost, hope remains_

Shattered – Trading Yesterday

The Humphrey loft was a warzone. Dan and Rufus had been going at it for days following the play, when Rufus had found out about Dan and Ms. Carr's relationship. Jenny sat on her bed, trying to ignore the shouting that was coming from the living room. She hated seeing them fight. Ever since she had come home at Thanksgiving, she wanted nothing more than to have her family happy and whole. Apparently it wasn't going to happen. The yelling escalated; she was sure that they could hear it in Manhattan now. Sighing, she got up and walked over the fire escape on Dan's side of the room, and sat out in the cool Brooklyn air. She took a deep breath. It was peaceful. That was what she had been looking for. Peace.

She pulled her phone out of her pocket and flipped through her contacts list. She had the overwhelming desire to talk to someone. She needed some human contact, she had been hiding in her room from Dan and her dad for hours now. She flicked through acquaintances she knew from school, she really didn't know them well enough to call them like this yet. She stopped when she hit Nate's name and number. She wished she could hit the little green call button. Her thumb hovered over it, her heart beating faster as every second passed. What would he be doing right now? Would he be out with Vanessa? Would he be having a wonderful time, and not even thinking about her?

Jenny mentally chided herself. Of course he's not thinking about her. He hadn't thought about her since he chose Vanessa, months ago, on that fateful December night. Sighing she flicked past his name, she could never call him. It was stupid to even think about it. She stopped again when she hit Carter's name. She smiled, remembering when she ran into him at the play. He had been a complete gentleman, and had offered to give her a ride home after, saying that anyone who had hit their head as hard as she had shouldn't have to ride the subway home. It was extra nice of him to drive all the way to Brooklyn when he was meeting a friend for drinks after the play. He drove from the UES, to Brooklyn, and back, all because he didn't want her to take the subway.

Smiling, she hit the call button and brought the phone up to her ear. She heard him answer, and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Hey Carter, it's Jenny Humphrey. I was wondering if you were busy… oh you're not? Great. Do you want to meet up?"

**

"Nate, what is this?"

Nate looked up from his History textbook to look at Vanessa, who was standing over by his desk, holding a white piece of paper in her hand. His heart sank. She was holding his letter to Jenny.

"Uh…it's a letter." He clumsily replied.

"I see that it's a letter. It's a letter to _Jenny_, it's the one you wrote last year. I recognize it. Why the hell do you still have it? I thought you threw it away after I gave it to you at the Snowflake Ball. " She stared impatiently at him, he could tell she was pissed.

But he was confused, how could she _recognize_ the letter. She had just seen the envelope… but that would mean that she had read the letter when she had taken it last Thanksgiving. His eyes widened as he contemplated this new development. She has conveniently left out that part when she apologized to him last December, and had given the letter back. But now, knowing she read the letter, he felt violated, he felt wrong, he saw now how nothing she said was true. She was just as manipulative as Blair, just as calculating. He clenched his fists, grinding his teeth together. He was _pissed_.

"You read the letter." He blurted out, looking at her. She blanched.

"Of course I did, I saw it here lying on your desk, so of course I read it. If you didn't want me to, you shouldn't have left it lying around."

"No, I mean you read it last year. When you stole it. You read it. You said you recognized it. You couldn't have recognized it if you hadn't previously read it."

"I… I mean… Fine. Yes. I read it. I wanted to know what was so important that you had to write to her in a letter; a four page letter, no less. I was jealous. I wanted to see what I was up against. But I gave it back to you. I did the right thing, I gave it back…" looking less sure of herself, she looked back into his steely blue eyes.

"No, you didn't. The right thing would have been to not have stolen the letter at all, to let it get to Jenny, like it was supposed to. Do you realize what you've done? You've not only violated me, and my personal feelings, but you've violated the trust I had in you. You've caused me to make the stupidest decision I've ever made, which was choosing you over Jenny. And you've caused a good, kind hearted, beautiful girl to suffer because of that decision. I hate myself for what I said to Jenny that night, and I've hated myself for choosing you over her ever since. She didn't deserve the pain, and lord knows I don't deserve her now. But you, Vanessa, you don't deserve either of us. She is too good for your friendship, and I don't want anything to do with you." He stared her down, daring her to defend herself.

"Nate… I.. I'm sorry… but.." she faltered, looking away from him and down at his feet. She felt like scum.

"But nothing, Vanessa. You fucked everything up. I will take some of the blame for being the biggest ass known to man, but if you had never taken that letter, none of this would have happened. Jenny and I would be together, we would be happy, and she wouldn't have had to suffer like she did. Hell, I would be happy, a million times happier than I could ever be with you."

"I'm sorry Nate, really…"

"I don't want your apologies. I want you to get the fuck out of my house, and I don't want to see you again. Ever. Goodbye Vanessa. Have a nice life."

And with that he marched her to the townhouse door, watched her walk through it, and slammed it after her. He turned and leaned against the wooden door. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and felt a huge weight lift off his shoulders. Smiling, he decided to go for a bit of walk. He needed to plan his next move. He needed to win Jenny back.

**

Half an hour later, Nate was strolling through Central Park, mulling the cheesiness of unexpectedly showing up at the Humphrey loft with a bouquet of flowers, and declaring his undying love for Jenny, while groveling for forgiveness at her feet. Biting his lip, he keep meandering along the path, not really noticing his surroundings, until he saw a flash of white blonde hair in the moonlight, and stopped in his tracks.

There was Jenny, sitting on a park bench, with Carter Baizen. And they were kissing.


	6. Chapter 6

_Breaking down and coming undone,_

_It's a rollercoaster kinda rush,_

_And I never knew I could feel that much,_

_And that's the way I loved you_

The Way I Love You – Taylor Swift

Jenny didn't know how she got here. She and Carter had met up in Central Park. He bought her a hot dog, and they just started walking. First they talked about the silly things, getting to know one another things, and then it had started getting more serious. He told her how he felt abandoned by his parents, he had basically been raised by his nanny. How he had started acting out in high school, in a bid to get their attention, to make them care, but all they did was quietly get rid of his indiscretions. She in turn told him how she sometimes hated her mom for leaving her dad, for being the first to cheat, for breaking them apart. How she still secretly longed for her mom to come back one day, and for her family to be whole again. How she wanted nothing than for them all to be happy like they once were.

And then they were sitting on a park bench. She had shivered a little, her light jacket wasn't nearly warm enough for this unseasonably cool May night. He scooted a little closer to her, and put his arm around her. She slowly lowered her head to rest on his shoulder. It suddenly occurred to her how romantic this all was, the two of the them sitting alone in Central Park, with the full moon shining it's silver light down on them, and the crickets softly chirping in the background.

She looked up at Carter, he smiled at her, and lifted a finger to her chin, pointing her face up more towards him, and then he was leaning in closer… closer… and then his lips were lightly brushing hers. And then everything went a bit fuzzy…

She didn't know how long they had been sitting there, kissing, but all of a sudden his lips were being torn from hers, and she lazily opened her eyes, and then her heart stopped as she saw what had interrupted her little moment with Carter.

Nate was there. He had grabbed the back of Carter's jacket and ripped him away from Jenny. He had him on the ground, with his fist poised, ready to crush Carter's nose in, and Jenny watched, horrified, as he let it go, and his fist landed with perfect accuracy. She let out a scream as Nate continued to pound on Carter.

"NATE. WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING? STOP IT! NATE! STOP IT!" She ran over to him and started slapping his head, trying to get his attention. On the fourth slap, he stopped pummeling Carter and looked up at her, he had little beads of sweat dotted all over his forehead, and his eyes were only half open. He looked dazed. Suddenly his eyes widen as he realized who had been hitting him, all the blood drained from his face as he looked down at Carter, and the blood that was pouring profusely from his nose.

He quickly stood up, and took a few steps back, periodically glancing between Carter, who was still lying on the ground, and Jenny who was now kneeling next to him, holding the scarf she had been wearing up to Carter's nose, attempting to stop the flow. She turned her head and looked at him. Her eyes were narrowed, her normally smooth forehead was creased with frown lines.

"Nate! God, what is wrong with you?" She turned her attention back to Carter, who was now attempting to sit up, he was still holding her scarf to his nose.

Nate stared blankly back at her, opened his mouth to say something, closed it, thought for another second, then opened his mouth again, and simply stated, "I saw you here, and I thought he was forcing himself on you."

Her mind reeled. "Forcing himself on me? Are you insane? We were just kissing, for christ sake. It was perfectly natural, and it was consentual. Carter would never do anything like that."

"Jenny, you don't know him like I do, you don't know what he's done… to me… and to others."

"Oh, so once again, this is about the great Nathaniel Archibald. You have a grudge against Carter for messing with Blair last year, or for something else, whatever. I don't care Nate. For your information, he's told me more about himself in the past two hours than you ever did in two years. He's treated me like a human being, like someone who has feelings. Once again, that's more than you ever did." She practically spat the last few words at him, and his eyes widened in shock.

"Jenny, trust me, you don't know him. He's not a good guy… he's a user…"

She cut him off. "And you're not?" She stood up angrily and took a few steps closer towards him. "You're the biggest user I know Nate. You go from girl to girl, looking for someone to love you, and you take and take and take, and you bleed the poor girl dry, and then you ditch her, and move onto someone. You never give anything back. If anyone's the bad guy here, it's you. Take a hard look into the mirror Nate Archibald, a long look, and then you come back to me and you tell me what you saw; and then we'll see who's the bad guy. " And with that she turned on her heel walked over to Carter, helped him to his feet and started walking away, one arm wrapped around Carter's waist, supporting him as they walked. She didn't look back.

**

Nate didn't know what had happened. One minute he was standing there, watching Carter molest Jenny, and the next he had Carter on the ground and was punching his lights out. All he could see was red. And then Jenny had started slapping him, and he had snapped out of it. And then he felt ashamed, horribly, awfully ashamed. He hated that Jenny had seen that side of him, the violent, angry side that comes out and he just can't control it.

Then Jenny rightfully tore him a new one, and had marched off with Carter dripping blood every step of the way. She was right, he was a horrible person; a user. The worst part is that he's known this for a long time, yet he hasn't done anything to change it. But not anymore, that Nate is gone. For good.

But damn, he had fucked things up with Jenny more than they had been. He sighed and absentmindedly rubbed his bruised and bloodied knuckles. He was going to have grovel ten times longer now to get her to forgive him, and a bouquet of flowers definitely wasn't going to cut it.

He needed back up for this one. He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out his phone, flipped it open, and hit speed dial number 2. Blair Waldorf.

**

Jenny had walked Carter back to his building, made sure he got inside ok, and was bandaged and cleaned up. She told him she was paying him back from taking care of her after she had hit her head on the night of the play. She left him after he promised for the fifth time that he would be fine.

An hour later, she walked into the Humphrey loft to find Dan and Vanessa sitting at the kitchen bench. Vanessa was crying. _Good Lord, what now?_ thought Jenny as she walked into the loft. Dan turned to look at her and his eyes widened with shock when he saw the blood on her jacket.

"Jen! God! Are you ok? What's with the blood? Please tell me you weren't mugged. I've told you not to stay out this late."

She held up a hand to stop him before he got into one of his diatribes on crime in the city. "Dan, I'm fine. It's not my blood," and she held up her hand again as she saw Dan open his mouth to say something more, "don't ask. Please. All you need to know is that no one died, everyone involved is ok. Please don't ask me to say anything more, I don't have the energy to deal with that right now." She took of her jacket and plopped into her favorite comfy chair in the living room. Sighing, she asked, "Why's Vanessa crying? What's going on?"

Vanessa turned to look at Jenny, wiped her mascara smudged eyes, and said "I went to Nate's tonight, and found him fucking some other girl. We're done for good."

Jenny sat straight up in shock, her jaw dropped open. "WHAT?"


	7. Chapter 7

_And so I cry_

_The light is white_

_And I see you_

All Around Me – Flyleaf

"Nate. What do you want? I'm busy." Blair snapped as soon as she answered her phone. Nate softly chuckled to himself, he could imagine what, or rather who, she was busy with.

"Look, sorry to interrupt you and Chuck, but I've fucked up everything pretty bad. I need some help."

Blair sighed. "What did you do now?"

"I uh… I pounded the hell out of Carter's face."

"And why would you do that? I mean, besides the obvious reasons."

"I caught him and Jenny making out in Central Park."

"Wait… Carter and Jenny? Little Jenny Humphrey? That's unexpected."

"Yeah, that's what I thought. Though, not wholly unexpected, I saw them flirting the night of the play. He gave her a ride afterwards."

"Interesting. So not only did you choose the Brooklyn trash over Jenny last December, but now you've assaulted her newest prospect. I can see why she would be pissed at you."

"And she's definitely pissed. She said Carter was a better person than me…"

"God, you're right. You do need help."

"Please, Blair. Anything you can do. I usually don't like to stoop this low, no offense, but I really feel like I don't have a choice right now. I need to win her back. I… I love her."

"It's about time you realized that. And because of that, yes, I will help you. I'll make him look worse than you in Jenny's eyes." And with that she hung up. Nate felt relieved, and anxious. This could either go really well, or really bad. Sighing, he started making his way back home.

**

Jenny stared at Vanessa, still not quite believing what she had just heard. "Nate was with someone else tonight?"

"Yeah, I was there. I saw them… in his bed… going at it like rabbits. Of course until they saw me. Then he tried the whole 'it's not what it seems' line. I didn't believe him."

"Who was the girl?"

"I don't know. I hadn't seen her before. Probably some UES bitch I haven't met yet. Not really surprising, considering Nate's history. I mean, he cheated on Blair with her best friend, and then Catherine last summer while trying to get back with me… and then of course stringing both of us along last fall."

Jenny sighed and rubbed her temples. She really couldn't deal with this now. She honestly hadn't thought she could have thought any less of Nate, and then to hear this. She just couldn't believe him. Going after Carter like that earlier tonight, saying it was because of her, when just hours before he had been screwing some other girl? She just couldn't believe it. But, like Vanessa has said, Nate certainly did have a history with cheating. She knew that well enough.

She stood up from the chair, walked over to where Vanessa was sitting at the counter. "I'm really sorry V. I knew Nate had issues, but I thought he was better than that. And I'm really sorry I let Nate mess up our friendship. No boy is more important than a girlfriend. Ever." She smiled at Vanessa and bent down to give her a hug.

"Jen. I'm really sorry too. I wish I could take back everything I said or did to you. But it's all in the past now. " Vanessa said as she hugged Jenny back.

Dan cleared his throat loudly next to them. "Well, this is touching. But I think it's time we break up this sisterhood powwow and hit the sack. It's pretty late. And we've got exams tomorrow." Vanessa and Jenny turned to look at him and smiled. Laughing they broke apart.

"Yeah, you're right," said Vanessa, "I'll let you guys go to bed. I'll give you guys a call tomorrow. Movie marathon tomorrow night to celebrate the first day of exams being over? I'll bring the pizza."

Smiling, Jenny said, "Sounds great V. Talk to you tomorrow." And she walked towards her room as she heard the loft's door close. She still didn't quite believe Vanessa, but right now, after everything Nate had done, she trusted Vanessa a lot more than him.

**

Over the next week Jenny and Carter were nearly inseparable. Afternoons were spent sunning in the park while he helped her study for her exams, dinners out at Butter and Nobu, long moonlight walks down the New York streets, stealing kisses here and there in the shadows. Jenny thought he was perfect. Of course she had heard about his reputation, who hadn't, but he was a complete gentleman around her. She loved every minute with him, but still occasionally she found her mind wandering towards Nate. She hated him, of course she did, especially after what he did to Vanessa, but she just couldn't stop herself from thinking about him.

Jenny hadn't run into Nate since the incident in the Park. She didn't know if it was because she was avoiding him, or if he was avoiding her, or both, but she managed to never see him all through exams, until the last day of school. She was walking down the hallway to her locker at the end of the day, when she saw him standing in line to pick up his graduation gown. She stopped walking, and quickly turned around and started walking back the way she had come. But he had seen her.

"Jenny! Hey, Jenny, wait up. Please." She kept walking, pretending not to hear him. But even with her long strides, his were longer, and he had caught up with her within a few seconds. He grabbed her wrist, stopping her.

She ripped her wrist from his grasp, "Nate, please. Leave me alone. I don't want to talk to you."

"But you told me to talk to you again, after I had taken a long look in a mirror. Remember? Please, Jenny just hear me out."

She sighed, crossed her arms across her chest, and gave him her best I'm-just-humoring-you look. "Fine. But make it quick. I don't want to miss my bus."

"You were right about me. I am a user, I have treated you badly. I know. And I'm so sorry for it; for everything. I never realized what I had with you until I had lost it. And I'm sorry for beating on Carter that night. I just.." he sighed and dropped his gaze, "I just couldn't stand the sight of his hands on you."

"That's great Nate. I'm glad you realized what a complete and utter asshat you've been. Good for you. But I'm not the one you should be apologizing to right now. You should apologize to Vanessa."

Nate looked at her, and shook his head in confusion. "Vanessa? Why the hell should I apologize to her?"

Jenny glared at him, "For cheating on her. She told me what happened that night, the same night you beat Carter up. She told me she found you in bed with some slut. And about how she dumped your ass right then and there."

"What? I have no idea what you're talking about. That never happened. She and I broke up that night, yes, but not because I cheated on her. I broke up with her because she violated my trust." He reached into his bag and pulled out a battered white envelope. He looked up into Jenny's eyes, and handed her the envelope. "That's the letter I wrote to you after your fashion show last fall; after Dan found out about us, I wanted to tell you how I felt about you, and why I had to leave the city for a few weeks."

Jenny looked down at the small, thick envelope in her hands. This is _the letter_. Jenny had wondered for months what it contained, but had given up after awhile, thinking she would never get to read it. She looked up at Nate. "I still don't get what this has to do with you and Vanessa breaking up."

"She stole it Jenny. She read it. She knew how I felt about you, but she never gave it to you, she used it to her advantage. She used it to get me back. But I didn't know last December that she had read it. I found that out the night we broke up. Had I known she read it back then, there's no way I would have gotten back with her."

"But, Nate, the point is, whether you knew or not about her reading it, you still chose _her_. When you knew you still had feelings for me, you went back to her."

"Jenny… I'm so sorry. It was a mistake…"

She cut him off. "Save it Nate. I don't care. You're too late anyways, no matter what this letter says, you're 6 months too late. You made your choice then. You need to live with it. I'm with Carter now. You need to respect that."

She turned and walked away from him. He watched her walk down the hallway, his heart sinking lower and lower with every step she took away from him.

**

A week later, Jenny was at yet another graduation party. She wasn't sure who this one was for, they all burred together now. But, as the new queen (Blair had appointed her Queen last week), she was required to go and farewell all the seniors. Carter has escorted her to all of them so far, and he was at tonight's party as well.

Though, right now, she didn't know where he was. She had gone to the bathroom, only to come back and not have him where she left him. Frustrated, and just a little tipsy, she wandered through the rooms of the townhouse, looking for Carter.

She saw Blair up ahead in the next room, and ran up to her. "Blair! Have you seen Carter? He's done a Houdini on me."

Blair turned and smiled at her, "I think I saw him go upstairs. I think he was looking for you."

"Thanks Blair!" Jenny ran up the stairs, and started opening doors, looking for Carter. On the fourth door, she opened it, and stopped dead. There was Carter… with Penelope's legs wrapped around him, and her mouth suctioned onto his. Upon hearing the door open, they broke apart, and turned to see who had interrupted them. Penelope saw it was Jenny, and sneered at her. "J, do you mind? We're a little busy here."

Carter threw her off his lap and stood up, Jenny noticed he wasn't wearing his shirt. "Jenny, God. It's not what it looks like, I swear."

Jenny didn't say anything. She just turned and ran out the door, down the stairs, and out the front door. She couldn't see anything by then. Her vision was already blurred by her tears.

**

Nate anxiously roamed the townhouse. He really wasn't in the partying mood tonight. Blair had told him that whatever she was planning was going down tonight, she wouldn't tell him what she was planning though. She said it was better for him if he didn't know.

Then he saw Jenny, running like hell down the stairs and out the front door. He followed after her and found her sitting on the front stoop of the brownstone. She was crying.

"Jenny…? Are you alright? What happened?" He sat down next to her.

"Go away Nate."

"I'm not going to do that. It's obvious you're upset and could use someone to talk to. So please, tell me what happened."

She turned to look at him, her face was stained with tears. It pained him to see her like this. "I found Carter and Penelope hooking up." Her face started to crumple again.

He resisted the urge to run up into the house and pound Carter's face in again. Instead he whispered, "Oh God, Jen, I'm so sorry…" and he reached out and put his arm around her shoulders, drawing her closer to him. To his surprise, she didn't shrug him off.

"Don't say I told you so, Nate. Please. Don't say anything. I can't take it right now." She leaned into his body a little bit more and rested her head on his shoulder. "Can you just stay here with me, and not talk? I don't want to talk."

So he didn't say a word. He just sat there, cradling her against his chest, and let her cry on his shoulder. Nothing had ever felt so right.


	8. Chapter 8

_If he loves you _

_Set your heart on fire  
I hate to be the one to tell you he's a liar_

He Loves You – The Pretty Reckless

_Bzzzz… Bzzzz… Bzzzz…_

Jenny Humphrey awoke to the sound of her phone vibrating. Eyes half open, she flopped her arm over to her bedside table and picked up her phone. The caller ID said Carter Baizen. Jenny hurled her phone at the wall and watched it smack hard against the wall and fall to the floor in silence.

She knew what he was calling about and she didn't want to hear it. Carter could take his apology and shove it. Sighing, she rolled over in bed and promptly fell asleep.

**

_Bzzzz… Bzzzz… Bzzzz…_

Jenny awoke again to a buzzing sound. Still half asleep, her hand groped around on her bedside table to no avail. Then she remembered that she had thrown it against the wall. So it couldn't be her phone buzzing…

_Bzzz… Bzzzz… Bzzzz…_

It must be the door. Why didn't whoever it was just go away. Jenny hoped that if she just ignored it that they would eventually get the hint and leave.

_Bzzz… Bzzz… Bzzz…_

Oh for the love of God. "DAN! DAD?! CAN SOMEONE ANSWER THAT AND TELL WHOEVER IT IS TO JUST FUCK OFF?!?"

Jenny got no reply but silence. Great. Of course they were out. Typical. Sighing, she rolled out of bed and quickly ran her fingers through her hair trying to tame it a bit. She walked out of her room and through the living room to the front door. As she unlocked and opened the door, she yelled out to whoever it was, "I don't want to buy anything, and no I haven't accepted Jesus Christ as my lord and savior, and I sure as HELL don't plan on doing that anytime soon…" but stopped midsentence when a bouquet of flowers were shoved into her face.

After taking in the 2 dozen roses she was being offered, she looked up to was holding them and felt her heart stop beating for a second. Nate Archibald's smiling face greeted her. His mouth opened to speak, but she cut him off before he could.

"Nate, what are you doing here?"

His smiled faded a little and little frown lines appeared in between his eyebrows. "I just wanted to check on you, to make sure you were alright… after everything that happened last night."

"And bring me roses as well apparently."

"Well, you know, I thought they could help cheer you up. Did it work?" He smiled his goofy smile at her again.

She couldn't fight the smile that broke her lips apart, casting her eyes down at her bare feet, she said "Maybe a little bit. They are beautiful Nate. Thanks," she took the roses from his hand and looked up into his deep blue eyes. "It was really nice of you to check on me, but you didn't have to come all the way down here for that. You could have just called me."

"Well, I did try calling you, but I guess your phone was off or something? It just went straight to your voicemail."

Jenny blushed, "I ah… I may have thrown my phone at the wall earlier and broken it. Oops." She giggled.

Nate laughed, "I see. Well, when you didn't answer I got worried, so I decided to come check on you. And there was something else besides the roses that I wanted to give you too."

"What?"

"This." And he stepped closer to her, leaned in, and kissed her. And Jenny melted. No matter how good a kisser Carter was, he was nothing compared to Nate. She knew that the first time he had kissed her accidentally all those years ago at the Masquerade Ball when he thought she was Serena. And then last year when they had kissed outside Agnes' apartment on the street. She never thought anything could have topped that moment, but this one did. Everything had stopped around her, it was like she and Nate were the only two people in the world, and nothing else mattered. She had wanted this for so long; she could scarcely believe it was happening. Nothing could ruin this for her, nothing…

"AHEM."

…nothing but Dan catching his little sister making out with Nate on the threshold of the loft. Jenny and Nate quickly jumped apart and whirled around to see Dan standing at the top of the stairs, his arms crossing his chest, with a look that would melt lead in his eyes.

"Jen. Nate. What the hell is going on here?"

**

Jenny and Nate were awkwardly sitting on the Humphrey couch, with Dan sitting on the chair opposite them. Correction, he was sitting and shooting daggers at Nate.

Jenny could feel her thigh touching Nate's. The tingling feeling that came from just that little contact was almost too much for her to bear. She shifted herself a little to the left so that they were no longer touching. The movement didn't escape Nate. He quickly glanced over at her, sending her a subliminal message, _are you still ok?_ Jenny quickly nodded her head and looked away from him and down at her hands that were resting in her lap.

Dan cleared his throat. "So, is one of you going to tell me what is going on? Cause I would really like to know why one of my best friends had his tongue down my baby sister's throat. _Again._" He looked pointedly at Nate.

"Dan, will you stop the over protective brother act now? It's getting really tired." Jenny snapped at him, "If I kiss Nate, it's my business; it has nothing to do with you. It's not like you asked my permission before ever hooking up with someone."

"Well, I never hooked up with a 16 year old high school girl. Not even when I was 16." Dan retorted.

Jenny opened her mouth to answer back, but Nate lightly put his hand on her thigh and stopped her. "It's alright Jen. I've got this one." His eyes smiled into hers and she felt her anger at Dan slowly dissipate. "Look, Dan, I know we're friends, and I know you have issues with me and Jenny, and you have had since that Gossip Girl blast last year. I regret that you had to find out about us that way then, and this way now. I wish I could go back and do things differently. But I can't. All I can say right now is that I've been an idiot, I've made some huge mistakes, and I'm trying to pay for them right now. I hate that hurt Jenny the way I did last year, and if I could take all her pain away, I would. I _never_ intended to hurt her, I would never mean that, ever. Because, Dan, I…" Nate faltered.

Jenny reached down to grab Nate's hand and gently squeezed it, willing him the courage to say how he felt, to Dan, and to her.

Nate licked his lips and took a deep breath, "…the truth is, I love your sister." He turned to Jenny, and grabbed her other hand that was resting in her lap. "Jen, I do. I love you. And I have ever since that night last year when I kissed you out on the street. I was a coward before, I was too afraid to admit how I felt to your face, so I wrote it in a letter and sent it to you, but when I didn't hear back from you, I was hurt. I thought you didn't feel the same way, so I tried to move on. But I never could. I love you Jennifer Humphrey and I will forever."

Jenny was in shock. She knew that Nate cared for her, but he loved her? She had never seen that coming. And she never thought that he would declare his love for her in front of her brother. "Nate, I… I don't even know what to say right now…"

Nate cut her off. "It's ok Jen, I'm not expecting anything back. I just had to tell you how I felt. I was going to burst if I held it in any longer. And I needed to tell Dan that I'm serious. I'm not going to play games, you're it for me. You're all that I want." He smiled at her.

Dan slowly rubbed the back of his neck, deep in thought. Slowly he raised his head and looked at his sister and the boy who had just declared his love for her, "Well, uh, I guess I had the wrong idea about this. Nate, I'm sorry I've been so harsh, I just want the best for Jen. She deserves the best. But, after that speech, I don't really have any objections. So I uh, I guess you have my blessing to be with my sister." Dan smiled at Nate.

Jenny rolled her eyes. "Not like I need your permission or blessing Dan. I'm a big girl now, I can make my own decisions, thanks."

Dan smiled faded a little again, and he turned serious, "But dude, if you do hurt her again, I will hurt you. And boy, can I bring the pain." He glared menacingly at Nate, before breaking into a smile and laughing. "Ok, I know, you could probably snap me like a twig. But for real, don't mess with her again."

Nate laughed, "Don't worry Dan, I will never hurt Jenny again. I promise." He smiled over at Jenny, and she smiled back. She was so happy, her heart felt like it was going to burst. She never thought she would be this happy again.

_Bzzz… Bzzzz…_

The door buzzed again. Dan, still laughing, got up and walked over to the door and opened it. And in stepped Carter Baizen. Jenny stiffened.

"Jenny, I have to talk to you, I know you've been ignoring my calls, but I have to explain what happened last night. I was set up. Nate set me up."


End file.
